waist.it

Thanks for taking the time to study my profile. OK. I'm a bit old-fashioned. I dislike porn and I'm not particularly keen on gratuitous nudity either. I prefer a more "old style" or "retro" look. Consequently, many of my shoots feature retro-style swimwear, old-style corsetry and ethnic-wear in retro-fitness and pin-up derived themes. In a nutshell, I try to emulate the shapes and forms that were made so perfect by female style icons such as Juile Newmar, Esther Williams, Cyd Charisse, Marilyn Monroe and of course, the late, great Bettie Page.

• You can peruse the sort of work I do, and the rationale behind my ideas at my retro-fitness themed site:-waist[dot]it

Costumes

I'm particularly keen to replicate the classic hour-glass figures of that bygone era and document how we achieve that look. To do retro-fitness properly, one really needs models who can carry themselves well and who "look the part". One also needs authentic looking costumes that hug and enhance the model's figure. Over the years we have amassed a large and fairly valuable collection of vintage costumes in a range of sizes between UK 4 up to UK 12. And I'm happy to mix our outfits with yours, if you have items of your own that you particularly want to try in the genres that I shoot.

Venue

I work mainly from a small but well equipped studio in South East Hampshire, UK. It's about 25 square metres (270 square feet), with separate changing facility. My wife is normally present during the shoot to organise the studio, fix the scenery and dig out the various outfits and props we require. She is also a very competent stylist, and is excellent at spotting loose threads and labels sticking out!

Lighting and props

In addition to conventional studio flash, I also enjoy unusual or unorthodox lighting (including constant-lighting sources such as daylight-CFL, LED, UV and flat-panel). I like including iconic pieces of technology, e.g. vintage radios, film cameras, dial-type telephones, sports cars, optical disks, maps, mixer-desks, hard disk innards, and steam engines (to name but a few) with my shoots. I'm also rather keen on animal-print fabrics, expensive-looking shapewear, shockingly-vibrant colours and seriously chunky jewellery - though not all at the same time, obviously! :-)

General

Whilst I have a great love for "vintage", I'm not irretrievably locked in the past. I particularly enjoy mixing old-fashioned looks with very modern ones, unashamedly creating what a friend sometimes describes as "quirky photographic anachronisms". I particularly enjoy working with intelligent, hard-working models that can also inject some humour and a sense of fun into the shoot. After all, if shooting stops being fun, then what's the point of doing it?

Finally, six important things that models should be aware of...

1. We still take the COVID19 pandemic very seriously. Myself and anyone who assists me are all fully vaccinated. We also all take lateral flow tests before mixing with other people. We may ask you to take a lateral flow test prior to the shoot too please.
2. I do not work with under 18's. You must be 18 years old, or over and have valid photo ID.
3. I understand that models must ensure their own safety. Therefore chaperones are generally welcome to my shoots. However, I would prefer it not to be your boyfriend please. Mums, sisters, other models, even best friends all tend to make better chaperones than boyfriends. In any event you must please tell me before the shoot if you intend to bring someone with you, and who this person is.
4. My modelling site is strictly no-nudity and I also have a career and a business outside my model photography. Therefore, models working with me are NEVER asked to pose nude.
5. Model photography is an expensive, non-profit pastime that I undertake primarily for fun and recreation. I offer TFP to models who I believe will enjoy the shoot and who will make the necessary effort to create good-quality images for their portfolios. If you shoot with me, no money will change hands either way. We each cover our own costs. You pay your travel, I fund the studio and the costumes.
6. My time and resources are valuable. Models who book a shoot and then fail to turn up without a valid explanation may be charged for the time and resources they waste.